IGN: Cities XL First Look

There's been a noticeable gap in the urban simulation genre the past five years, or basically since EA and Maxis last made a SimCity game. Sure, there have been plenty of city-building games that let you place very last piece of a city in place, but there have been very few urban simulations that task you with the handling the bigger picture. The closest to come to SimCity in recent years are the City Life games from Monte Cristo.

City Life blends urban simulation with a class simulation that at times has the haves and the have-nots clashing. Not too surprising since City Life is basically French. But with Cities XL, Monte Cristo is going in a completely different direction, taking aim for the urban simulation crown that SimCity has long held. There's a lot to be excited about in Cities XL, so let's take a look.